In this third section of the Nikon D800 review, we’ll be looking at the telephoto lenses. These are models with a focal range of 70-200mm or 70-300mm and we have also included the super-zoom or “all-in-one” lenses with focal ranges from 28-300mm.

Of the lenses currently tested by DxOMark, there is one or two that are not yet available. Notably, prime lenses around 200mm or longer have not been tested as well as (at Mid-March 2013) the Nikon 70-200mm VR II lens. However, these will be added in the coming months as the labs get to do their testing.

As we’ve seen in the standard lens test results, when using the Nikon D800, it pays to look for the best lenses, because the camera is so demanding of lens performance. As we’d expect, when comparing the lenses in these groups to the best standard prime lenses, the telephoto models lose out. However, interestingly, the 70-200mm lenses do score approximately similarly to the standard zoom lenses, suggesting that optical quality is not dropping off that sharply in this focal range.

The 70-200mm lenses perform remarkably well compared to other lenses tested. As expected, lenses with a large focal range, 70-300mm or 28-300mm super-zooms tend to show the lowest scores.

Within this test group, the 70-200mm lenses are clearly the best choice for the highest image quality.

70-200mm

The 70-200mm focal range is exceptionally popular – for good reason. This focal range covers a lot of requirements and is used regularly by photographers in most genres. As we’ve seen, the fact that these lenses tend to perform better than other lenses within this class has also made them a favorite choice.

The best 2 lenses tested are both Nikon models: in the Overall score, the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VRII and the Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR come out on top with scores of 29 and 28, respectively. With a price of $1,399, the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 ED VR is not only a top choice, but also a good bargain – as much as a lens costing over $1,000 can be considered a bargain.

If you need a faster maximum aperture than f/4, then the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II is the best in its class. If the Nikon is out of your price range, the $770 Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD (IF) and the less-recent $1,850 Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED both score a very good DxOMark score of 26. In all areas, the two are seemingly equal, so your choice will eventually come down to brand loyalty and price as much as any image quality concerns.

The one thing to keep in mind is that the latest Tamrom 70-200mm f/2.8 lens has not yet been tested. Once the lens has had its turn going through our labs, we expect to possibly see some shift in these two last places, especially since the Tamron lens did so well when tested on a Canon-mounted version.

Apart from the Nikon f/4 lens mentioned above, the Tamron also makes a good value for money option given its retail price of $770. If the slight loss in image quality compared to the Nikon f/4 lens does not bother you, the Tamron model could even be considered the best choice when price and performance are weighed up.

70-300mm

The 70-300mm focal range is often seen as a “kit lens” length as many double zoom camera-lens combinations include a 70-300mm lens. They are effectively cheap lenses that offer a decent focal length, but generally the compromises made in achieving the large focal range mean image quality suffers.

Of the four lenses, the Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED comes out as the top choice for two reasons – firstly, it has the highest sharpness score of the quartet, managing 12P-Mpix and secondly, because it features Nikon’s Vibration Reduction system. With such a long focal range, having VR is a real benefit in achieving sharp shots while handholding and so this lens makes the best choice.

However, if paying $669 for a lens like this seems a bit too expensive, the best value for money option is the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS. This is for largely the same reasons as the Nikon lens – it puts in the second highest sharpness score and also includes an image stabilizer function. Priced at $359 it is a good choice if value for money is your major concern.

Super Zooms

Buying a Nikon D800 and then fitting a super-zoom lens may seem a bit like buying a supercar and running it on cheap fuel, but there is a place for these lenses as they are functional, especially if you are travelling and do not want to carry the weight of several lenses in a kit. However, as with the 70-300mm lenses, there is a compromise to be made in the lens design – if not, we’d all be using 28-300mm lenses!

Of the four lenses tested by DxOMark, there are two that really stand out. The first is not a true super-zoom in the sense of being an all-in-one lens, but instead offers the longest focal length that will be of interest especially to those shooting sports or wildlife. It is the Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS HSM. With a sharpness score of 12P-Mpix, it beats the other lenses and doesn’t really lose out greatly in any other area, hence why it top scores with a DxOMark Overall score of 19.

For a true super-zoom, the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR makes the best choice. 10P-Mpix is not great when compared to shorter focal lengths or prime lenses, but within the compromises of the super-zoom design, it is not a bad result. At $1050 though, it is the most expensive lens tested in this category, though it does include Nikon’s VR system. Because of the high cost, unless you really need the extended focal range, you may do better to look elsewhere.

For a value for money option, the Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED offers a good alternative. While it lacks the 300mm focal length, the much lower cost of $300 makes it an attractive proposition as in a direct head-to-head with its more expensive stablemate, the only area it really loses out is in the chromatic aberration tests, which is why its overall score has suffered.

Conclusion

With a Nikon D800, your best option for the highest quality images in this focal range is to stick to the 70-200mm models. As ever, these offer the highest sharpness scores in the range and best image quality overall. The other lenses have their place in the kit bag, but they suffer from too many compromises to make them an ideal choice when trying to maximize the performance of the Nikon D800.

In the final section, we’ll look at the wide-angle lenses, both primes and zooms. Stay tuned!

Further readings for the Which lenses for your Nikon D800?

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

After evaluating the performance characteristics of lenses mounted on full-frame models such as Nikon D800 and D600, as well as the Canon EOS 5D Mk III, we’ve now had the opportunity to analyze a range of lenses on the Sony SLT-A99. In this concise report, we’ll see how well the combination of Sony’s high-end image sensor and the latest Alpha mount lenses perform.

Following on from our series of selecting the best lenses for the Nikon D800 with its potential for massively detailed images from the 36Mpix sensor, we’ve now turned our attention to that camera’s younger sibling, the 24Mpix D600.

First replies for this comment

Re: How about an update to this article?

Hi,You might have noticed that we do not propose updates to our reviews, but all the results can be found for the D800 on our rating page. This is where you will find the current best lenses: http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Ratings

First replies for this comment

Re: D800E

Hello,

Thanks for your message.

The ranking should be close to the current one of the Nikon D800.But the Nikon D800E should score higher on a lot of lens and some lenses could show their own limitation, but for now we cannot tell which one.The D800E lens recommendation is planned too but we will have to assess a maximum of new cameras before perfoming test on the D800E.

Re: D800E

Will the Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 for the Nikon D800e be close in scores to the D800? The scores with the D800 body with Tamron SP 24-70 looks to be higher than the Canon 5DM3 with the Tamron SP 24-70. Although, I'm curious also about the Sony A7r with the Tamron SP 24-70 for Sony mount. Any way we can try and test the Tamron SP 24-70 with the D800e and Sony A7r?Thank you!

Re: D800E

Hello,

Very good question,we are currently testing A7 and A7r so the first results should be available within 2 weeks. D800e is now pretty old we will try to do it but the top priorities are the new lenses and the new cameras (and some other old missing lenses).

50mm F1.4 G on D800 and on D700

I see that on the Nikon D700(and on Nikon D3), the best 50mm is the Nikkor 50mm F1.8 G, while on the Nikon D800(and on the Nikon D600) the best 50mm is the Nikkor 50mm F1.4G. What is the reason for these results? Why the 50mm F1.4G, mounted on the Nikon D800, wins against the Nikkor 50mm F1.8G, but not if mounted on the D700 or on the Nikon D3?

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED Macro

Thank you DXO for being a nuetral body and providing qualitative and detail report on primary aspect of Camera peformance. I am planning to upgrade to d800e and wanted to know whether Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED Macro is a perfect lense for it? Thank you again.

Sigma 120-300mm conspicuously absent

Whereas the holy trinity lenses rightly garner much attention, there is a significant dichotomy between them and the so-called super-zooms. Sigma, for instance, has a 120-300mm f/2.8 lens that continues to garner largely favorable reviews, yet has been completely marginalized by this site. Most curious indeed!

Older Lenses

I've been surfing for a Nikkor 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E but was wondering if these older lenses work on D800 bodies? What are the drawbacks to using "retro" or retired lenses that were once only used for film? Do they even fit and connect?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Hello!Excuse me but I don't understand the scores of Nikon 24-70f2,8 ED. You mention that Sigma "scores a very poor 26µm" in chromatic aberation - what about the 31µm of Nikon 24-70f2,8 ED. How can it have score 28 while the Sigma with with similar or even better numbers scores just 23?

First replies for this comment

Re: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Hello!

Thanks for your interest in DxOMark.

Chromatic aberration is not taken into account for dxomark score, for more information see our documentation: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/About/Lens-scoresExcept chromatic aberration, these two lenses have close measurement results. See the full comparison here: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Lenses/Compare-Camera-Lenses/Compare-lenses/%28lens1%29/885/%28lens2%29/175/%28brand1%29/Tamron/%28camera1%29/834/%28brand2%29/Nikkor/%28camera2%29/834

Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G & Sigma 50-500 OS / pre-OS

It would be nice to see the results for the new Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G, as it is supposed to be an excellent lens.

Also, I'm sure many people are curious about the results for the Sigma 50-500 (new OS & older pre-OS version). If you really want the reach at an affordable price, it is a lens you'd be interested in.

I am interested in questions like, "is the Sigma 50-500 at 500mm worse than the new Nikkor 80-400 at 400mm with cropping for same FOV?" and "is the Sigma 50-500 at 500mm worse than the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8G with a 2x teleconverter at '400mm' and cropped for the same FOV?"

Re: Nikkor AF-S 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G &amp; Sigma 50-500 OS / pre-OS

D800 and ultra wide; no Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D AF ED

<div id="linkdxomark">This a comment for <a href="http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Which-lenses-for-your-Nikon-D800">this page on the website</a></div>

Hi, thank you for running your test. I noticed that you didn't include the 'Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D AF ED Lens' in your test, is there a specific reason for this? I noticed that this lense is also not on nikons revised 'lenses to get the highest res from your d800e' list.

Would it be possible to either include it here or run a separate test of the 'Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D AF ED Lens' and the d800.